Fish and chips

Don't be fooled by the title.  This isn't the fish and chips you are thinking of.  This is chips like potatoes chopped and baked that crisp up almost like a potato chip, with fish, just plain, no breading, on top.  Super simple meal and super yummy!
This idea came from Mark Bittman's book the minimalist cooks at home.  So far I'm liking this book.  It is set up so be simple.  Not a ton of ingredients, just simple meals with lots of flavor.  For every recipe he gives a story behind it, the recipe, keys to succes, and with minimal effort ideas (extras to add for more/different flavor, or to add veggies....)  Definitely a book I will continue to investigate while I have it checked out of the library.
This really was super simple.  Aside from peeling and slicing the potatoes, there wasn't an overabundance of work.    I did add one of his with minimal effort suggestions to add garlic (although I was already thinking about doing that when I read it.)    This was a perfect recipe for me.  I had fish in the freezer that I wanted to use, and potatoes in the pantry that I needed to use.
As far as amounts on this recipe - I can't really say too well.  I actually made 2 pans - an 8 X 8 and a 9 X 13 baking side by side.  I had no problem doing this.  I used more potatoes and fish in the 9 X 13 pan and a little less in the 8 X 8 pan.  I'll list the original amounts which say they make 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium potatoes, 2 lbs or more.  (I used 7 or 8?  kind of lost count.)
• 6 Tablespoons butter (I used 8 1/2 or 9) -melted -or use olive oil if you are anti-butter.  
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs white fish about 1 inch thick, skinned - in 2 or more pieces.  (original called for cod.  I used mahi mahi.  4 fillets on one pan (about 2-2.25 lbs) and 2 fillets in the other (about 1 lb)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  (I put the butter in the pan and put my pans in the oven to melt the butter I used 4 Tablespoons in the 9X13 and 2 1/2 in the 8X8 -see next note) Peel the potatoes and cut into slices about 1/8 inch thick.  (I cut mine on a mandoline and think they were a bit thinner than 1/8 inch.  
2. Toss the potatoes with 4 Tablespoons of the butter (or just toss in the pan if you already melted the butter in the pan. I'm not sure I'd melt the butter in the pan again.   I loved how the butter browned, but it would be easier to toss the melted butter with the potatoes with my hands which I may opt to do next time.)  Season potatoes liberally with salt and pepper and spread them evenly.  Place pan in the oven.
3. Cook for 40 minutes checking occasionally, until potatoes are tender and have begun to brown. Remove from oven. (This didn't take 40 minutes for me - maybe because my potatoes were thin.  I set my first timer for 15 minutes (they were already in the 3-5 minutes so max 20 min.) when I checked them, they were already tender and starting to brown.  I stirred them because some were stuck together and not as browned and cooked them for a few more minutes (while I got my fish together and melted some butter - maybe 5-10 minutes.)  
4. Turn the oven to broil and make sure to have a top rack 4-6 inches from the heat.  Top the potatoes with fish, drizzle with the remaining butter (I used the last of the first stick I had, and a bit more.)  Season with more salt and pepper.  Broil until fish is done, 6-10 minutes - depending on thickness.  Mine took 10 to have all pieces done.  Keep an eye on it while it broils.  I saw a potato starting to burn because it was kind of sticking up, so I knocked it over to flat with a spatula and it solved that problem.

 

Shrimp Enchiladas

Brandon requested Enchiladas for Father's day dinner.  I asked what type and he said pork or something.  I searched mel's kitchen cafe for a recipe and found these shrimp Enchiladas and decided to try them.  They were a great enchilada - if you liked shrimp - however, I don't so I really didn't like them.  I thought the shrimp was edible, not to tough or anything, but didn't like the fish flavor the whole enchilada had.  However, even not liking shrimp or fish very much, I must say that the sauce for the enchiladas was delicious.  I could make this with pork, chicken or cheese and be very happy with it.  AND, my shrimp lovers, loved these enchiladas.  So, don't let my dislike of seafood dissuade you from trying these.  I will warn that they are a bit time consuming, but so are most enchilada recipes.  I did make a few changes - bit more shrimp because that is what DH bought, and cheddar cheese because what I thought was monterey jack in my freezer was actually mozzarella.  I also do have to say that we had sweet red, yellow and orange peppers and some great cherry tomatoes that we used for the tomatoes and bell peppers.  Both were wonderful.

Ingredients

Cheese Sauce:

• 1 cup sweet red, orange and yellow pepper, chopped
• ½ cup onion, minced
• 1/4 cup butter
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 ½ cups Cheddar cheese
• ½ cup sour cream

Shrimp Mixture:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-size pieces
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped (we used some cherry tomatoes)
• 1 ½ cups cheddar
• 16 taco size tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch dish and set aside.
2. Saute red pepper, onion in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute. Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.
3. In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute shrimp and 1/2 cup onion until shrimp are pink (don't overcook or the shrimp will be tough). Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Spoon 1/3 cup shrimp mixture into each tortilla. Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Tuna Pastry

This recipe is from a relatively new cookbook I have called healthy meals for less.  I have to say, it isn't particularly my favorite mostly because although it says healthy, I don't find the recipes to be all that healthy.  In that I am a bit disappointed.  However, this was good.  It originally intrigued me because it is quite similar to a recipe I have called Tuna biscuit ring.  That is actually something I ate growing up, and both Brandon and I like it, but the kids don't.  This had a different middle, and had you make individual pastries.  That was fun, but time consuming.  I don't think I'd do that again.  I did like the different flavors of the tuna part though.  I'm not a huge fan of the parsley in Tuna biscuit ring, but I liked the lemon/dill flavor of this.
I did make modifications to the recipe in the book.  It called for twice as much fat as my Tuna biscuit ring, and I didn't add that.  I did toss in the teaspoon of sugar that was different.  This recipe didn't call for a cheese sauce, but I really like the cheese sauce of Tuna biscuit ring, so I made a 1/2 batch (since I know the kids don't like it.)  That worked out well.
I kind of got creative with my folding techniques.  Made some look like balls, some I left with the pinched part at the top, and some I folded more like an empanada.  Neither shape worked really any better or quicker for me, so no suggestions there.  Just pick one you like.

Ingredients

• 2 5-6 oz. cans tuna, drained
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 2 Tablespoons light mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons diced onion
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Dough;

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cold butter or shortening

Directions

1. Mix all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2. In another large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut in the butter with a pastry knife, fork, or fingers.  Add the milk and mix until a dough forms.
3. Roll the dough into a 1/4 in thickness on a floured board.  Cut into 3 inch circles.  Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of the dough round.  (Man I did this wrong - would be nice if I read the directions better when I baked rather than when blogging.)  At this point, I pulled the dough up around the tuna and pinched it closed, or folded it and pinched it...  The actual directions say to add another dough round on top and pinch the edges closed.  
4. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Almond crusted Tilapia

Wow, I'm trying to upload pictures and I came across this picture - not the greatest because I totally forgot to take it on a plate - I just got one when I put everything in a little plastic container to put in the fridge.  I'm blogging it because I remember it being tasty, and I had to make a decent amount of changes because the original called for Old Bay Seasoning.  I looked it up and then figured out my own easy mix to approximate it.  The original recipe came from my No Whine with dinner book.  I like that book.  Most of the recipes have been nice.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs tilapia (4-6 fillets)
• 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds, finely chopped (I threw them in my blender.)
• 3 Tablespoons dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (a home-made version I had)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Place each tilapia on a cutting board and slice it down the center to make 2 smaller fillets.  Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and aside.  Combine almonds, bread crumbs, brown sugar, celery salt, pumpkin pie spice, salt, cinnamon, and pepper on a plate.  Whisk together the egg and water on another plate, and place the flour on a third plate.
3. To bread the fish, coat both sides with flour and shake off excess.  D ip in the egg, then coat evenly with the nut mixture.  Place fish on prepared pan, mist with nonstick cooking spray and bake until golden brown, and the fish is cooked through.  (about 15 minutes.)

Toasty tuna melt casserole

I know when I make tuna Tavio will hate dinner.  Last night Benjamin even whined and whined about it, but then ate it all.  Go figure.  However, I guess because this looked like bread Mr. Picky 2 year old actually tried dinner.  He wanted it with syrup (sadly it was on the table still from breakfast.)  I wouldn't let him do that, but I did allow ketchup and he ate over 1/2 of his food.  I was sooo excited.  (This child eats nothing that looks like a casserole.  I usually separate out his food to try and get him to try at least a portion of it.)  Anyway, the recipe is from yet another book I have checked out of the library right now.  Family feasts for $75 a week.  I think this is my second recipe that I've tried.  I liked this one better than the last one.  This called for "10-12 oz dry bread cubes (use crouton recipe on page 284 or buy stuffing mix - the kind with the seasonings in a separate packet.)"  This confused me a lot because The crouton recipe was flavored with spices and they wanted you to buy stuffing mix with the separate seasoning.  I couldn't find the stuffing mix with the separate packet, but I didn't look very hard. The crouton recipe said only use 4 slices of bread - I cut only 3 of what I had left, but that didn't weigh anywhere near 10-12 oz so I grabbed a package of seasoned croutons and used the rest of that.  I think all total I only ended up with about 8 oz.  So, the crouton recipe would have needed to be doubled.  Anyway, definitely confusing for me.  I would try this again with the stuffing mix, or making my own croutons, but I liked the flavorings added by the seasoned croutons, so I think I would add that if using plain bread or stuffing again - or just go ahead and use the flavored croutons or flavored stuffing - who knows.  Point is it turned out good this way, so I wouldn't change too much.  Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bread, cubed (I had decent sized homemade wheat)
• 1/2-2/3  package of seasoned croutons
• 3 5 oz. cans tuna in water (not drained)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 - Put bread on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.  and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crisp.  Reduce oven heat to 400.
2. Meanwhile, mix 3 the tuna with their water, dehydrated onions, eggs, milk, pepper, curry powder, and butter in a bowl. 
3. Spray a 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray.  Place dried bread and croutons on the bottom of the pan.  Toss to evenly distribute.  Pour tuna mixture on top, pressing the bread into the sauce if necessary.  
4. Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake until it starts to puff up, the cheese has melted, and the bread cubes have browned some.  20-30 minutes.

tuna wraps (faux sushi)

Here are some tuna wraps I tried for a different lunch. They were supposed to be spicy - I didn't do that. These were a little faux sushi type wrap. I think sushi would have been easier to roll and cut, but these were a nice change.

 

Ingredients

• 2 5-6 oz. cans light tuna, drained
• 1/3 cup low fat mayo
• 1 teaspoon tabasco sweet spicy sauce
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 burrito sized tortillas or wraps
• 1 bunch watercress leaves
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot cut into matchsticks (I just quartered a bunch of baby carrots this day.)

Directions

1. Mix tuna mayo and tabasco in a bowl.  Combine rice and vinegar in another bowl.
2. Spread 1/4 of the tuna mix on one side of the tortilla.  Spread 1/2 cup rice on the other side of the tortilla.  Make a line of carrots on one side of the rice and a line of avocado on the other.  Top with watercress leaves.  Roll up tightly and cut into pieces of about 2 inches or so.  Serve with soy sauce if desired.

Salmon with Maple-Grapefruit Sauce

This is a recipe from my Sandi Richard's cookbook. I made it back in march, so I can't say if I changed anything. I'm pretty sure I used less Mrs. Dash than called for, but I actually found the Sambal Oelek than she calls for in a lot of her recipes and used that. It was way too spicy for the family. However, I liked the rest of the grapefruit sauce. I would love to try this again and use maybe 1/4 of the chili sauce, or just add some heat with a tiny bit of chili powder or something, definitely not a full teaspoon of the chili sauce. Until then I will refrain from posting the recipe because like I said it, I don't think I actually changed anything. It is on page 106 of the book if you happen to have it - Great book. I highly recommend it. 

 For me this was a 2-3 star -just too spicy.  Brandon really liked it though.

Greek Tilapia

This recipe c omes to you courtesy of Taste of home's healthy cooking magazine.  It was actually second place prize winner of fish dishes in this month's magazine.  (from Sally Burrell of Idaho Falls, Idaho)  I actually changed it a tiny bit, and totally left off the last 3 ingredients and it was still wonderful.  Kind of a messy sauce, but everyone seemed to like it.  This is how I made it (with notes about the original if you would prefer to try that.)

Ingredients

• 6 tilapia fillets (4 oz. each)
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup crumbled tomato and basil feta 
• 1/3 cup fat free milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (original was 1/4 - I even worried with 1/8 because it stuck to the egg, but it was fine- I really didn't notice it.)
• 2 roma tomatoes chopped (or 1 large)
• 1/4 cup chopped olives
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds (original was pine nuts - would be nice, but I didn't find them at the grocery store.)

Directions

1. Brown the fish in butter in batches.  Transfer to a large baking sheet.
2. In a small bowl, combine egg, cheese, milk and cayenne.  Spoon over fish (this was super -soupy and drained everywhere, but just cooked up like extra egg which no one seemed to mind - it did make a huge mess of the cookie sheet, so I would suggest covering the cookie sheet with foil to make for easy clean-up.)   Sprinkle fish with tomato, olives and nuts.  Bake uncovered at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  (I think I left mine in 12 minutes or so and it was perfect.)

(The original combined a bit of parsley, lemon juice and pepper and drizzled it over the cooked fish, but I didn't bother.  It tasted fine as it was, and that was just one more thing to make. 

Tilapia with green beans amandine

This was some of the best fish I have ever made.  Loved this recipe.  I loved the panko coating - while it didn't have a ton of flavor, it was nice and crisp.  The fish was also nice and tender.  We didn't manage to get the green beans cooked quite long enough.  They had a fine flavor, but were super crisp.  Not the recipes fault though.  :)
The recipe comes from my simple and delicious magazine.  I did add to the ingredients a bit here and there to make 5-6 servings rather than the original 4.

Ingredients

• 5 tilapia fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg (I used an extra large - you may need 2 for this amount if using just large)
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teasppon dried thyme
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (we used stock)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3/4 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions

1. Sprinkle fillets with salt.  (I forgot to sprinkle the first fillet.  I added my salt to my egg after that.)  In a shallow bowl or plate, whisk the egg.  In another shallow bowl or plat, combine the bread crumbs, parsley and thyme.  Dip fillets in egg, then coat with crumb mixture.  (I found that I had to press them into the crumbs to get them to stick well.)
2. In a large skillet, cook fillets in butter and 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown and fish flakes easily with a fork. (I had my heat a bit high at the beginning and ended up covering these to help them cook through without burning on the second side when my oil was pretty much out.)  Remove and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth, garlic and lemon juice until blended; set aside.
4. In another skillet, saute beans in oil until crisp-tender.  Stir cornstarch mixture and pour over beans.  Bring to a boil;  cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Sprinkle with almonds.  (we actually added our almonds to our beans when sauteeing so that they would get toasted.)

Orzo and Tuna Salad

Wow, I can't believe how much I'm not a fan of Thanksgiving left overs.  Maybe there's just too much of everything.  I think mostly it is that I just don't care for Turkey.  Anyway, not wanting to eat left overs for lunch today, I make Orzo and Tuna Salad for lunch.  It comes from a 2009 Betty Crocker magazine.  I didn't change too much.  Pretty simple, and not bad - seemed a bit liquidy for me, but tasty fine, and the texture wasn't bad even with the extra liquid.  Also a decent dose of veggies, and semi-simple to make.  (Even more simple if you let DH make it and only go help rinse the noodles.  :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon salt (not sure if DH put this in the water or not.)
• 1 cup uncooked orzo or rosamarina pasta
• 3 oz. cram cheese, softened (we used neufchatel)
• 1 1/2 cups diced cucumber (about 1 medium)
• 3 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
• 2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced (1 cup
• 2 cans (5 oz. each) tuna in water, drained
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill weed (we used dried and I just sprinkled)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat 2 quarts water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a 3 quart sauce pan.  Add pasta;  cook 7-9 minutes or until tender.  Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, place cream cheese, 1 cup of the cucumber, vinegar and oil.  Cover and process until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, mix pasta, cream cheese mixture and remaining ingredients until well combined.  Serve.

Chili grilled halibut with black bean salsa

I'm betting behind yet again, so I'm typing this up with not much intro.  This is the first time I've tried halibut, and it was pretty much like other white fish.  I thought it was smellier than a lot of white fish, and I was sad that even in the cheater frozen packs I had to skin it which added to my cooking time.  But it was OK tasting for a fish.
I liked the recipe.  It came from an old Pillsbury magazine from sept. 2000, but I changed the spices I put on the fish to make it a bit less spicy.  It was great the way I made it.  (at least I liked it. My anti-spicy/fish son didn't like it, but that's ok.)  I particularly liked the black bean salsa that went with it.  I liked the little sweetness the brown sugar added. (for some reason this is the only sad picture I have.)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder (worried about the added smoky flavor of this substitution but I liked it.)
• 4 (6 oz.) halibut steaks (3/4 to 1 inch thick (I used fillets)
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice

Salsa Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained (wasn't a fan of the safeway brand I opened - majority of the beans were split.)
• 2/3 cup salsa
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, and chipotle powder.  Mix well.  Place halibut on a large plate.  Brush both sides with lime juice;  sprinkle both sides with chili powder mixture.  Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat grill. (I was lazy and made mine in the oven on broil)  In medium bowl, combine all salsa ingredients; mix well.  Set aside.
3. Oil grill rack and grill over medium heat or 4-6 inches from medium coals (or broil 4-6 inches from heat.)  for 10-14 minutes turning once or until fish flakes easily with fork.  

Cod Espana

I'm liking the different recipes I found for different types of fish.  It is fun (for me anyway) to try different fish.  Cod was great - very mild.  But again I overcooked it.  One of these days I'll get better at this.  I need to be able to stick the thermometer in it I think.  I just get overly worried that it won't get cooked enough and will be slimy, and I hate slimy.
This particular recipe came from an old Pillsbury magazine - September of 2000 to be exact.
I liked it - I really liked the red pepper.  The garlic/citrus flavor was nice too.   It was just a bit dry, but that was totally my fault.  I also wasn't the biggest fan of the tomato.  Too squishy after being steamed.  Would have been nice added raw after cooking though.  I loved the way this looked in the pan so I took a picture of it.  Loved the green, red and white.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb. cod fillets (we had 1.3-1.5 lbs can't remember exactly -I cut it into 6 fillets)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt - didn't measure, just sprinkled
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic herb blend (original was garlic pepper but I didn't have that.)
• a few grinds of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves (I used a generous 1/2 teaspoon since I had extra fish.)
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper cut into rings 
• 2 limes, sliced (original was 1/2 lemon)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Sprinkle cod with salt; place in skillet.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until browned, turning once. (Only about 1 piece of mine showed any "browning."  But they were cooking more than I wanted.
2. Sprinkle cod with garlic/herb blend, oregano, and pepper.  Top with tomato and bell pepper.  Arrange lime slices around inside edge of skillet.  Reduce heat to medium-low;  (I think I forgot to reduce the heat - don't forget, my cod was overdone.)   Cover and cook 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork and vegetables are tender.  If skillet  becomes dry, add 1-2 Tablespoons of water.  (I didn't need to do this, the limes provided plenty of moisture.)

Potato crusted snapper

Yet again I'm getting behind in typing up my recipes.  I hate that, especially when I change things up, but life with 4 boys gets busy especially when there are halloween costumes to make, and parties to go to, messes to clean, like the 2 year old dumping red food coloring all over the stairs, normal mom stuff.  So, I'm starting with last night's dinner, then I will try to go backwards with all we have had in the last few days.
Last night we had potato-crusted snapper with orange maple vegetable ribbons.  Both are from my Simple and Delicious magazine.  I only slightly adapted each.  I will make a separate post for each, so here I'll talk about the snapper.  This was my first time trying snapper.  I only started eating fish more often a few months ago.  Now I'm trying to branch out and try different fish.  So last night was snapper.  The recipe turned out pretty well.  DH said it was perfectly cooked fish. Actually some were perfect and some were a bit overdone.  Mine was actually a bit overdone, and our fish loving son actually didn't like this, but I'm thinking his was a bit dry.  Our "like nothing" 2 year old LOVED this.    So, suggestion for next time - watch them carefully and remove as they are done.  Do not wait until the largest piece is done.  As far as flavor, I liked the potato crust.  Reminded me of french fries.  (Of course that combined with the fact that I had a drier piece made me want to dip it in ketchup.  Never would have thought I would want to dip fish in ketchup, but it was good that way.)  I didn't think you could even taste the thyme, and I added more than the original recipe called for.  Next time I'd decrease the amount of potato flakes because I didn't use them all anyway, and probably leave the thyme the same.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 1/2 cup mashed potato flakes (I'd use only 1 cup next time unless I find a finer flake that sticks better to the fish.)
• 1 Tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 -2 lbs snapper cut into 6 fillets  (I had close to 2 lbs.)
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup oil (I use a vegetable blend)

Directions

1. Place eggs in a shallow bowl.  In another shallow bowl, combine potato flakes and thyme.  
2. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper.  Dip in eggs and coat with potato mixture.
3. In a large skillet, cook fillets in oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Kidney bean tuna salad

Yet another recipe from allrecipes.com.  I picked it and put it in the menu, then it never looked good, but there was no way I had time to make the other option for dinner, so this won last night.  I was plenty glad it did because it turned out delicious.  I did change some things a bit, but nothing massive.   Reduced the oil, didn't add cilantro, doubled it, used limes instead of lemons because that is what I had etc.  I really was surprised at how much I liked this.  I loved the texture of the beans in the salad, and the flavors went together so well.  I was afraid it would be too much dill, that I wouldn't like the olives, etc.  Not so.   I liked everything about it.  I ended up just wrapping mine in the large piece of lettuce I dished it on and eating it as a wrap.  Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 5 oz. cans water-packed tuna, drained
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we used white cheddar)
• 6 Tablespoons chopped olives (probably about 1 small can, but I didn't have any)
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

Dressing Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons lime juice (I kind of overflowed all of my teaspoons though.)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Optional ingredients for serving

• Lettuce leaves, or pitas, or bread

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.  Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl until well combined.  Stir everything together and serve on lettuce.  (or as a sandwich, or in pitas.)

baked fish with cheese sauce

I found a recipe for fish with cheese sauce in my taste of home magazine.  I was afraid it was going to be a bit plain so I added some garlic herb flavoring.  I also used a different fish....  The great thing about it was that it was super simple, and probably one of my favorite fish dishes to date.   All but my 4 year old liked this.  My 2 year old actually ate lots.  Yea!  He is super picky.   I even loved it and I'm pretty picky when it comes to fish.

Ingredients

• 18 oz. mahi mahi - (This was 3 fillets.  I cut each in half.)
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted (I actually used I can't believe it's not butter light.)
• 1/4  cup dry bread crumbs (approximately.  I didn't measure.)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic herb blend

Cheese sauce ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb blend

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray.  Mix the bread crumbs with the garlic herb blend on a plate.
2.  Brush each fillet with melted butter.  Roll top side in crumbs.  Place in pan.  (original recipe said to sprinkle the crumbs on top, but they just got all over that way.  I did 2 like that then started rolling them.  I just did the sides and tops.)
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
4. Meanwhile, prepare cheese sauce by mixing the flour and milk in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in cheese, mustard, and garlic herb blend until cheese is melted.  Serve with fish.

Grilled tilapia with chimichurri mayo

This recipe comes from a Kraft food and family magazine.  I started getting these long ago in Spanish, then got them in English too, but they have since done away with the English version, so I'm down to only Spanish.  I guess I'm semi lazy about wanting to read my cooking instructions in Spanish because I rarely use it, but I decided to give it a try this week.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't pay enough attention to how much parsley I needed, and thought I had more in the garden than I did.  I was also lazy and didn't want to wait for the coals of the bbq to heat up so I just broiled it.  The thicker pieces turned out really well.  The thinner pieces were a bit dry.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mayo 
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (I used 1 lemon which was a tiny bit more than 2 T)
• 1/3 cup diced onion - I just used a slice that looked like 1/3 cup)
• 1 cup fresh parsley (only had 1 Tablespoon fresh - I did add a 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 tilapia fillets (2 lbs)  (I ended up using mahi mahi because it was on sale.)
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese.  

Directions

1. Heat grill (or broiler.)
2. Place first 6 ingredients and liquefy. Set asid 1/2 of the mayo mix.  (I didn't do this, but I was short on some ingredients.)  Cover both sides of the fillets with the rest of the mayo mix.
3. Grill (or broil) for 3 minutes per side on until the fish flakes easily with a fork.  
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Serve with mayo sauce.  (I used real Parmesan, not the powdery stuff, and I put mine on and threw it under the broiler for a few more minutes so it would melt.)

Crunchy Tuna Salad

I made this salad for lunch on Saturday.  It was a great salad.  I don't think I've ever made a tuna salad that was just a salad, not a sandwich.  This recipe came from my simple and delicious magazine.  I did alter some things to make it a bit healthier. (used light mayo, fat free sour cream, red leaf lettuce rather than iceburg, and cut down on the chow mein noodles.)  It was still very tasty.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used reduced fat)
• 1/3 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 head lettuce (I used red leaf today.)
• 1 can (12 oz.) tuna, drained and flaked (I used 2 5 oz. cans, but I think the bit more tuna would be good.)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used petite peas and just rinsed them in warm water.)
•  Chow mein noodles

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tuna and peas.  Add mayonnaise mixture and  toss to coat.  Serve on individual plates.  Sprinkle with chow mein noodles.

Baked strawberry salmon

This has to be the best salmon I've made in the short while that I've actually been making fish, and it was easy.  It did have to marinade for 30 minutes, but that is it.  I loved the mix of flavors.  Sweet from the jam, salty and tangy from the marinade.  The marinade also seemed to take some fishiness away from the flavor.  Yum!
Picture from this turned out bad - not sure why - I'd have to guess that DH took it because I always take multiple pictures and I only have 1 of this.  Here it is.

Prep 10 minutes (it really only took that long - maybe less.)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 salmon fillets (6 oz. each), skin removed
• 2/3 cup strawberry preserves (I used home made -Yum)

Directions

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard and pepper.  Add salmon; seal bad and turn to coat.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Place salmon in a greased 9 X 13 baking dish.  Discard marinade.  Spoon preserves over fillets.  Bake uncovered at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Italian pecan fish

I had fish recipe picked out from a Simple and Delicious magazine, but we got dinner started so late this evening that I chose another recipe.  This one I got  from an easy meals night we did for a church activity a month or 2 ago.   I had thought that the person who did it said you could just toss the fillets in from frozen, but I wouldn't recommend that.   It took over twice as long to cook and a lot of the crumbs ended up falling off.  The fish did end up tasting good.

Recipe Origin: HEB Grocery Store

Prep Time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:

• Salmon Fillets (or other fish, such as tilapia, halibut, etc.) (I used 2 12 oz. pkg. of mahi mahi - 4 fillets)
• Italian bread crumbs (I just used regular and added Italian seasoning. -1/3-1/2 cup of crumbs)
• Pecans, diced very fine (I used about 1/4-1/3 cup) 
• Butter, melted (I used about 2 Tablespoons)

Directions:

Sprinkle crumbs over salmon. Sprinkle pecans over crumbs. (I just mixed the crumbs and pecans together.)  Sprinkle melted butter over all. Bake fish at 350 for about 15 minutes. 

Oven fried fish

This is a simple recipe from my saving dinner book.  I didn't change it much except to add a bit of parmesan/romano blend when my Pamesan ran out.  I made it with 2 mahi-mahi filets and 2 salmon filets.  I didn't try it with the salmon.  It was ok with the mahi mahi, but I didn't find the crumb mixture to be all that flavorful.  I thought that was surprising with the Italian seasoning in the crumbs and the cheeses, but oh well.  The directions on this were a  little bit funky in the book so I've written those out how I made it.